


Miraculous Guardians

by Madihatter



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Teen Angst, new life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2018-07-22 21:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7454674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madihatter/pseuds/Madihatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arabella has never believed in heroes. She hated the stories her father read to her before bed because she knew they weren't true. Even now, when her family moves to Paris she doesn't know what to think of Ladybug and Chat Noir. She especialy doesn't know what to think when she becomes Paris' newest hero, Angel, who protects civilians and helps trap akumas for Ladybug and Chat Noir.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The first meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction. I want to focus on the OC getting to know the squad and nathanael but i want to give some of the other classmates some love too.
> 
> Also if you see bold&italics then the characters are speaking english and if it's just italics then its thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated: June 4, 2017

 

Nathaniel watched as the green trees’ and blue sky were swept away past the window. He was only partly listening to the teacher’s instructions for the art club’s newer members.  Nathaniel enjoyed the field trips the club took once a year to the countryside cities around Paris. Less noise, which helped him focus, and more things to paint. He felt the pull of the bus breaking and coming to a stop. The engine hissed as the doors opened and the students poured out the doors to await further notice from the art teacher. He picked up his portable easel and traveling art bag and stepped of the bus into the gravel.

 _This is new,_ He thought, _we haven’t stopped here before._

As if the art teacher could read her students minds she chirped in saying, “This year the school added this lovely village to our tour. We will spend the day here at the park to paint and then we will head to the Inn.”

 _Cool a new place to explore and paint_ Nathaniel thought as he smiled inwardly. Nathaniel took his equipment and set off to find a good place to paint. It didn’t take long to find the perfect spot hidden among the trees near a small creak. He readied his utensils and found the perfect angle so that the tree’s long green limbs danced across the surface of the water. He didn’t hesitate to paint the beauty before him. His hand glided across the canvas. His brush speaking fluent art. This was always the moment he lost himself. Amid painting or drawing something he would doze off into his own little world. He didn’t even realize he had added in the girl who had been sitting below him by the river. Nathanael didn’t even know she was there at all until, he saw her figure in his painting and checked to see if she was there.  Sure enough she was. In the painting she was wearing white, but in reality, she wore her dark hair in a braid and a black dress with white accents. She was just sitting there staring at the water.

 _Hmm... I don’t recognize her. She must live in the town._ Nathaniel thought. _I hope she doesn’t mind I accidently added her in._ Before he could do anything, the girl stood and turned to walk up the bank. Back to the road. She stopped when she saw Nathanael.

“Oh um, Hello. Sorry if I disturbed you.” She said sweetly.

“It’s no problem” Nathaniel managed to squeak out before adding, “you didn’t bother me.

The girl smiled. “that good to hear then.” She gazed at the back of the easel. “may I look?” she asked.

All Nathaniel could do was give the girl a slight nod. As the girl looked at the picture, her features changed to an impressed state. “Wow. You’re really good. You have a real talent, but I’m sure you already know that.” Her eye moved to the spot where she was sitting in the painting.

“Is that me?” she asked.

Nathaniel nodded again as a blush rose to his face and quickly he quickly stammered “I-I didn’t mean to add you. I mean I- I didn’t know you where there- “ he stopped when she giggled.

“No, you are fine. You have done a lovely job. No one has ever painted me before and you did such a good job.” Nathanael blushed at that. “I need to get going but good luck with your painting.” She waved and continued walking.

As he turned to continue his painting he couldn’t help but think of how sad she looked even though she was smiling.

 

~ 1 year later~

 

The blaring of her alarm woke her. "ungh." Arabella weakly moaned as she turned over to hit the off button. _why are mornings so hard?_   She slowly sat up and took off her covers. She then impishly walked down the hallway to her younger brother's room and banged on the door. "Will, I hope you’re up. Don't make me come in there." she yelled. "I am, geez." come a smaller voice on the other side of the door.

She went back to her room to get dressed. today was the first day of the new school year. After she and her siblings finished the school year in the country, her aunt and uncle had moved them to Paris to be with them. the night before she decided to wear her dark blue shirt that hung off her shoulders and was held up by two black shoulder-straps and a pair of denim shorts. she brushed out her hair and headed down to the kitchen to find her sister Cassandra already dressed and eating.

"Morning Cassie. Are you ready for today?" she kissed her younger sister’s cheek and sat across from her with a plate.

"Morning Ari! yes I am really excited!" her green eyes beamed.

Aunt Tilda walked into the room as Will joined them at the table. "Better eat quickly kids. Don't want to be late on the first day." she took a sip of her coffee and sat next to Cassie and attempted to brush the tangled mess on her head. "Yes mam" the trio said in unison. As her siblings were walking out the door, Arabella turned to the picture on a stand next to the door. It was of their late parents on their weeding day. "Good bye” she whispered and ran after her siblings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arabella puffed her bangs out of her face as she stood in the doorway to her class. When Arabella arrived most of the seats were already filled. She quickly surveyed the room for an open seat and found only three. She tried to assess the students to see which one she wanted to sit next to. The first was a girl that had short messy pink hair and had a punk skater kind of look going on. The second was a large boy in a red sweater, but he looked like he was waiting for a friend. The last was a person was a redheaded boy in the far back who was looking down at his desk. Arabella decided to sit next to the less intimidating partner who wasn’t waiting on a friend. She walked up to the desk and saw that the red-haired boy was actually drawing a comic strip and not just staring intently at his desk as she had though before.

"Um. Excuse me." she said. The boy looked up a bit startled and turned to face her. _Whoa. Talk about de ja'vu. Why do I feel like I know him?_   "May I sit here?" she pointed to the empty seat beside him. The boy looked at her for a moment as if processing the request and nodded. She sat down but wasn't sure what to do next. Finally, after a few minutes of awkward silence, the bell rang and class had officially begun.


	2. The Limelight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some background and some chill time with rose, juleka, and mylene! :)

Arabella sighed as she plopped onto a bench in front of the school building at the start of lunch. The first half of the day was over and she hadn't made much progress in making friends yet. She couldn't even hold a conversation with the red headed boy that sat next to her. She still had a nagging feeling that she's met him before, but she can't remember where. She was able to introduce herself to some of the students siting around her during the first break, but she wasn’t able to talk to them for long. 

 _Well, what a great way to start the first year of high school. Alone._ Arabella thought. 

She looked around for Cassie, but didn't see her yet. Arabella had promised she would eat lunch with her if she couldn't find a friend to eat with.  _I hope she didn't get lost. At least our schools are somewhat close together._

She had offered the same invitation to her brother but Will flat out refused to be seen with her.  _Boys are so weird,_ _she thought. She was startled when she heard her name._

"Hey, you’re Arabella right?" Arabella turned to the source of the voice to find three of the girls from her class. The one who spoke was blond and was outfitted in pink while the girl to her right was wearing the complete opposite, black hair and black clothes. The girl on the left was shorter than the first two and had colored threads in her hair.

"Oh, yes. That right." Arabella replied. 

"Great! Hi, I'm rose and this is Juleka and Mylene." she said gesturing to the girls next to her.

"Oh hello, it’s nice to meet all of you." 

"We were headed to the café down by the corner and were wondering if you would you like to join us.” Rose said with a hopeful smile.

"Um…" Arabella paused. She hadn't heard from her sister yet to see if she had a lunch partner. She wanted to make sure Cassie wouldn't be alone on her first day. "That sounds really fun bu—“ a ring on her cell phone made her pause. It was from Cassi.

To: Ari      From: Cassi

Subject: hey ari! I found a friend to eat with. dont worry about me :)

“—I would love to join.” Arabella continued.

Rose’s smile got bigger, which Arabella didn’t think was possible. “Wonderful!” Rose exclaimed. “Let’s go I’m starving.”

“Same here” Juleka said.

~~~~~~~~~

As the four girls sat down Mylene gestured to the seat beside her. "Here, you can sit next to me."

"Thank you Mylene." Arabella sat down and pulled out her lunch her aunt had packed. The other girls ordered their lunches and started chatting.

"So, Arabella, why don't you tell us about yourself so we can get to know you." Juleka suggested.

"Like what?"

"Like... Oh! Where did you move from? Earlier you said you moved to Paris recently, right?" Rose asked.

"Well, I transferred from a small village around the Les Baux-de-Provence area. I had lived there since I was eight years old." 

"Ooooh! That’s is such a beautiful area!" exclaimed rose.

"Where is that again" asked Mylene.

"It’s in southern France near Arles" Juleka answered.

"Wow that’s quite some ways to transfer," Mylene turned back to Arabella, "What brought you here?" she asked.

Arabella paused. They were entering a topic that was still a little raw. Arabella needed to quickly change to subject. "Oh well, my family thought it was best for us to move here.” She said. Arabella started to fiddle her fingers under the table. “Better opportunities and such. My siblings and I thought it would be a nice change." 

"How many siblings do you have?" Juleka asked  . 

"Just two. I'm the oldest out of the three. My brother, Will, is 12 and my sister, Cassie, turned nine a month ago. Do you guys have any siblings? I want to get to know you guys as well." Arabella stated.

“I have an older brother,” Juleka said, “He is currently studying at University of Rouen in Normandy.”

“What is he studying again?” Mylene asked.

“Last time I heard it was history, but he could’ve change majors again.”

The girls giggled and continued with the conversation. Rose mentioned she had a younger step-sister, who was a year younger than Cassie, and Mylene proudly admitted she was an only child.

During lunch, the four girls chatted about many different things. Like boys, school work, movies, and the latest fashion trend. Arabella was able to keep the most was when Mylene brought up Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

 _Who are they? Characters of a popular tv show?_ Arabella wanted to ask but the conversation had already changed to classes the girls were taking this year. 

"I'm not sure taking English was a good idea," Rose said sadly, "It’s the first day and I don’t think I will be any good at it."

"Don’t be too hard on yourself Rose. I'm sure you'll do fine." Juleka placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder to comfort her.

“Yeah, it’s only the first day.” Mylene chimed in.

"You know," Arabella started, "I could probably help. I can understand English pretty well." 

"REALLY?!" All three girls beamed. 

A little startled by their reaction Arabella decided to proceed with caution. "Yes. I was born in America and grew up there a little before moving to France. I was born in the state of Texas."

"Wow! What’s it like?" Mylene asked excitedly.

"Well, I don’t remember much but I guess it was a little different. For instance, they don't use choco powder on their cereal."

"What do they use?" Juleka interjected.

"Well, just milk. And as I recall their schooling system also is on a different level and doesn't use the same measurements as most of the world. It actually was difficult trying to adjust to the change. My mother wanted me to continue to learn the English language when we moved here to embrace my “American” side. You see, my mother was from the village and my dad was from the state of Colorado. They met at university." Arabella pause before adding the next sentence. "We moved to France after my dad died." Arabella realized she had gone into a tangent. "Sorry, I started rambling." Arabella said.

"Oh no your fine! It was such a lovely story." Rose said as she puts her hands to her face and dreamily looks to the sky. "A young woman falls in love with a foreigner and they start a family! What a beautiful romance.”

“Besides it not every day you meet someone from America!" Juleka Added. The girls giggled and then cleaned up to head back to class.

~~~~~

 As school started to let out, Rose stopped arabella before she headed out of the classroom. 

"Hey Arabella! Jileka and I are going to the cinema tonite at 7 and we wanted to see if you wanted to join us?"

“I would need to check with my aunt, but I would love to join you guys. Do you have some way for me to contact you?"

"Of course! Here is my number and I can send you Juleka's and Mylene's as well." Rose handed Arabella a piece of paper.

"Thank you, rose. I would like their numbers, but only if they are okay with it. I will text you what my aunt says." 

Arabella walked downstairs and found her siblings waiting outside the building. Together they walked back to their Aunt and Uncle’s. While walking Arabella looked at the paper. _I think I just made some friends. Looks like this year won’t be so bad after all._

~~~~~

Arabella waved to her uncle as he drove off and then turned to face the cinema doors.  _Wow this is a big cinema…_  Arabella thought to herself.  _It might take a while to get used to such a big city. We only made it to school today because Aunt Tilda had showed us the way beforehand._ She walked in and looked around for Rose and Juleka but couldn't find them. Arabella checked her watch. 6:45 pm. 

 _Maybe they aren't here yet. I am a few minutes early_. There was one person she saw immediately due to his deep red hair. Nathaniel was standing near the concessions.  _Might as well talk to him while I wait._  Arabella decided.

Arabella walked up to Nathaniel and waved to get his attention. "Hey Nathaniel."

Nathaniel turned and said a soft hello. "So... How are you today?" Arabella said trying not to make things awkward.

"I am doing fine.” He responded. Then, quiet.

So much for not being awkward. _Okay. We must have to have something we can talk about, right?_ Arabella thought. “What movie are you seeing?

“I am seeing 'Le Fantôme de Canterville' with my younger brother Nate." 

"Oh. My sister has been wanting to see that. Will you tell what you think of it? It's always nice to have a second opinion." 

"Okay, I will tell you tomorrow at school."

Arabella didn't let Nathaniel see it but she was surprised he said that. Either she had attempted to talk to him enough throughout the school day to where he is okay with talk or it was his way of politely telling her to stop talking. Both could have also been an option.

"I’m sorry if you’re waiting on someone or need to be somewhere. I just saw you and thought it would be nice to talk to you while I wait on Rose and Juleka." Arabella stared to turn away but Nathaniel stopped her.

“Uh no, it’s fine. I’m waiting on my brother anyway.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Even after he said she could stay and talk with him, she still didn’t know that to talk about that was relevant at that moment. The silence continued, but it was a little less awkward than the first time. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rose and Juleka walk through the entrance.

“Well, my people are here. So, I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

“Y-yeah, okay.” Nathaniel stammered. They shared an awkward wave and went their separate ways.

"Hey," rose started, " Sorry, we were running behind.” She paused and looked past Arabella then back at her. “Were you just talking with Nathaniel?" 

"Yeah, I decided to attempt small talk while I waited." Arabella replied. “I didn’t get that far but I guess I made progress.”

"Cool. Juleka got in the ticket line. Are you getting any concessions?" 

"No, I had dinner before I came." 

"That's smart. I am going to get some popcorn." Rose frolicked (yes frolicked) to the concessions counter.  _What a funny girl_. Arabella thought. 

Arabella joined Juleka at the ticket counter and bought herself a ticket. When they all had tickets and the popcorn was dripping with butter the girls walked into the theater and found their seats. The movie was a Romantic Comedy that Rose picked out. It was either that or the 'pit of death' which didn't seem as entertaining to Arabella since her mother was lowered into her own pit of death not long ago, so she sided with rose. Arabella did admit to herself that though the movie was cheesy, it was still pretty funny.

Rose started crying halfway into the movie. "It's so romantic." she muttered when Arabella asked was asked if something was wrong. 

Arabella had gotten sucked into the movie. For a short while, all was well in Arabella's world. Then the screaming started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the quiz!  
> Just kidding. Thanks for reading.  
> See y'all soon! (do y'all now how hard it is not to type y'all while writing as a native texan.... very hard.)


	3. Curtain Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! posting this a little early since ill be on vacation but I didn't want to leave ya'll hanging. Today we finally get to see Ladybug and Chat in action (Took long enough right?). Have a miraculous day!
> 
> Updated: June 4 2017

Arabella sat up in her chair.

"Do you guys hear that?" she whispered to rose and juleka who were looking a little worried.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound good." Rose replied.

Other people in the theater noticed it too. A tall man went to the door that lead to the lobby to peak through. He came back pretty pale. "It's an akuma attack. We should go outside to safety." He said trying to remain calm. Everyone in the theater gathered their things and fast walked to the emergency exit door near the screen. 

On the way down to the door, Arabella asked Juleka what an akuma was. "I forgot you haven't been here long. To summarize, there is this evil guy who calls himself hawk moth and he has the power to take control over a person and have them cause havoc on the city..." Arabella could not believe what she was hearing but tried her best to listen over the panicked whispers. "But Ladybug and chat noir protect Paris so they should be here soon to stop the akuma," Juleka looked over at Arabella, “What? do I have popcorn in my teeth?" Arabella realized she was looking at Juleka like she was crazy but who wouldn't.  _Superheroes? Mind control?_ _This can't be real. Superheroes don't exist... do they?_   

"No, uh sorry. It's just a lot to take in." Arabella responded.

Arabella noticed the others in the theater were panicking more now. _What is taking so long to get out the door?_ She thought. She listened closely to the whispers.  

"Oh no this is bad!" one woman said.

"What are we going to do? The door won't open" said another person. The whispers continued. "How did it get stuck?"

"Are we trapped in here?" Rose quietly asked Juleka.

Now she was getting worried too. Arabella turned to the next option. The door leading to the lobby.  _If we could sneak past whoever is out there, then we can get to safety. Not very practical Ari, but it looks to be the only option we have right now._  Slowly Arabella walked to the main door and opened it enough to peak through.  

There she saw...whatever it was, she didn't really know.  _I guess this is an akuma_. The akuma was a dark skinned woman dressed in a long shimmering black dress that went past her feet, which was easy to see because the woman was levitating. She was held up by long rolls of film tape that propped her up like the villain Dr. Octavius from the Spider Man 2 movie. She floated around with an old film project and shot any poor soul in her path. It looks as if they did everything she wanted after they were struck. 

 _Okay so this might be harder than I thought._ _Not like it was going to be easy anyway._  

Arabella saw a flash of black and red. Two people dressed in costumes leaped at the akuma.  _Ah, those must be the hero's._  Arabella thought. Then she saw the way to escape. Behind the Concessions counter was a door that lead to the back alley and was easily accessible from the theater. All they would have to do is sneak their way under the counter and they were free. Easier said than done. There was little cover in between the theater door and the counter and there being at least 30 people stuck in here. Arabella decided to tell the other moviegoers her plan. Of course they all thought it was crazy and risky. She did too, because it was. Arabella expressed that the akuma was currently distracted by ladybug and chat and that they would have to move quickly but it was possible to make it out. After debating staying and hiding or trying to run to safety, eventually most agreed with Arabella and they came up with a plan.  Arabella would go out first and would make sure the coast was clear. It was her idea after all. Then they would send the few children that came to the rom-com first. Then the adults would follow. They would have to go two at a time to get everyone out quickly without being caught. 

Arabella peaked out the door. She could see the akuma was distracted and the slaves weren’t near their stage door. She looks back at Rose and Juleka. They looked as scared as she was. The two gave her a nod of encouragement. "Here goes nothing" she sighed to herself. Arabella crawled out the door and watched the fight the whole time she made her way to the counter.  Once there, Arabella peaked over the counter to look at the battle. A hand came up and touched her shoulder. Arabella muffed her gasp and turned prepared to fight.

"Holy Cow Nathaniel, you scared the crap out of me!" she whispered.

"Sorry" he apologized softly. "What are you doing back here?" he continued.

"I could ask you the same thing. I'm keeping watch while we try to escape. The emergency door was stuck in the theater."

"Oh. I need to find my brother."

"What happened?"

Nathaniel turned and pointed to the bathrooms on the other side of the counter a few paces. "He went to the bathroom right before the attack. I came to find him. I couldn’t leave him." Arabella could tell he was panicking but doing his best to keep it together. "I don't know how I'm am supposed to get to him though."

Arabella placed a hand on his shoulder hoping to offer some reassurance. “I understand. I want to help.” She paused thinking, "I have an idea. When that—akuma thing— and its goons are distracted, I'll give you a boost over the counter and you sneak in. I'll get some of my people out while you find him.” She gasped, ”Oh crap my people! Hold on." Arabella turned and saw the others at the doors waiting for her signal.

Arabella peaked over the counter to see if the coast was clear. Chat noticed her and pointed her out to ladybug. Arabella made a line from the theater door to the counter trying to tell the hero’s as best she could what they were doing but she wasn't sure how well it would work. Either way the akuma was so focused on them so it didn’t matter, but Arabella had the kids wait a few seconds.

After the first two kids came out the hero's got the idea and kept the Akuma and her minions facing away from the door.  She turned back to Nathaniel. "I need to keep watch, but If I can get you in the bathroom you will have to either wait in there until it’s over or you can bring him back over the counter at my signal." She turned and motioned to for two more people to come forward. 

"I don't know if I can do that" Nathaniel was starting to lose his cool. 

"Hey, it'll be fine Nathaniel."

"How do you know? I'm not a superhero like Ladybug and Chat Noir. I just draw them."

Arabella signaled for more to come. "Okay this is ridiculous." Arabella turned and put her hands on his shoulders. "Look at me. I know you will be fine because you care for your brother. You don't want anything bad to happen to him. He is scared and needs his older brother to help him get through this. True, You and I are no superheroes, but we are still able to help. You can do this."  Nathaniel just stared at her and she noticed just how blue his eyes were.  _Wow his eye are a pretty blue._ _She thought_ _Stop Ari you’re getting off track!_

"Uh...?" Nathaniel blushed. 

_Wait….._

"Did I say that out loud?" Arabella asked with horrible realization. 

"Yes."

Arabella blushed in embarrassment as an awkward silence spread over them for the third time that night.

"Whelp. Okay. Forget about that. Are you going to help your brother?

Nathaniel started to slightly panic again. "Yes, but-"

"No Buts. I’ll give you a boost, but we have to be quick."

She signaled for more to come and when the two others were safely behind the counter she and Nathaniel crawled to the side of the counter closest to the bathroom. "Ready?" she asked?

"No"

"To bad. Just stay in the bathroom until it's over."

  
He nodded. She boosted him over and he darted to the bathroom. A flash of bright red light brought her attention to the fight. Ladybug and Chat noir were struggling to get the necklace around the akuma's neck. They had to fight off many of the minions and each time they got close to the woman, one would figure a way to get them away. Arabella signaled for the final few people to escape. Ladybug carried a polka dotted mirror and used it to distract the akuma so she could trap her with her yo-yo.

While she watched the fight, she heard Chat say as he attacked "It hate to be cut this production short, but I think it’s time for you to take a bow." _Did he really just make a joke_? _During a fight?_ He then kicked one of the minions towards the strands of film holding here up and knocking her down.  Ladybug used the mirror to deflect the akumas power back in her direction to distract her. When the akuma attempted to dodge, Ladybug threw her yo-yo and wrapped it tightly around the woman. "Quick Chat!" She heard Ladybug say, "get the necklace!"

He darted for it but a minion came up behind him and knocked him down. Something had to be done about the minions. Arabella looked around to see what could distract them with. Whatever the heroes wanted with the necklace, it had to be the thing that stopped this madness. her eyes landed on the soda machine.  _AH-AH!_ the soda was dispensed through hoses. If she turned up the blast ratio she could hit them from behind the counter.  _But would it be enough?_  

Arabella searched and found rubber bands and a broom.  _Okay, Ari. let’s see what we can do with this._  She quickly set 3 cups upside down on the counter and pulled the soda hoses out to rest on them. After turning up the spry quality, she readied the rubber bands on the spray handles and yelled "Hey Butt-heads! Did someone order soda!?" That got everyone's attention. The akuma was still struggling against the yo-yo but the minions rushed towards Arabella. 

Arabella flipped a switch to the machine and soda went everywhere. The machine practically exploded soda but still managed to spray through the hoses. _That didn’t go exactly as planned._ Arabella thought now covered in soda, _but it will have to do._ The minions who weren't stopped by the blasting soda slipped on it and fell. Arabella was also ready with the broom and 6 years of fencing experience to fight them away. Chat was able to use this distraction to his advantage. He pounced for the necklace and threw it to ladybug.

Arabella didn't notice the Ladybug cleansing the akuma because she was busy fighting the minions with her mad broom skills. All of a sudden a bright reddish pink light filled the lobby. When it subsided, she saw the soda dispensers were back in their place and the floor was clean of the sticky yet delicious fluid. She looked over to find Ladybug comforting the woman who had been hurt before. Chat strode up to her. 

"That pretty risky what you did. you could've gotten seriously hurt, but Thank you. Where did you learn to fight like that?" He pointed his chin at the broom that was still in her hands.

"Oh, I've taken fencing since I was ten." She hugged the broom wearily. _He doesn’t seem like a super hero._

"Well, you are pretty good at that. I'm sure whatever team your on is lucky to have you."

"I'm not on a team. I just moved here."

"That explains your reckless behavior. Please be careful next time h and leave the scary villains to us." He made a prideful smile and put his hand on his hips as if in victory, which made Arabella scoff.

"Okay, I understand." 

Ladybug walked over and introduce herself. She said pretty much the same thing chat did but without the fencing talk. Beeping sounds came from both heroes and both ran away. 

 _Hm... I still can't comprehend what just happened._  Arabella looked around.  _Everything is basically good as new._  Arabella turned towards the bathrooms.  _OH! Nathaniel!_  

She rushed over to the men's entry way and called out. "Nathaniel. It's over. You can come out." A head with reddish brown hair poked around the corner as Nathaniel stepped out into view. He and the little boy walked out hand in hand. "Thank you for helping me get to him." Nathaniel said. 

"It's no big deal." Arabella squatted to eyelevel of the little boy. "You must be Nate. It's nice to meet you." she held out her hand and the boy shook it. Standing back up she said, "I need to go find Rose and Juleka. are you both going to be okay?"

"Yes, we will be fine." Nathanael said, "right buddy?"  

"Right!" Nate responded.

 _Aw cute._  "Okay, I'll see you in school tomorrow." Arabella waved goodbye and left to find her friends. 

~~~~~~

"We were so worried when you didn't come out of the theatre!" Rose said as she squeezed Arabella in a tight hug. They had been waiting in the alley for her to come out during the attack.

"Yeah, we thought she turned you into her servant" Juleka added.

"Well thankfully she didn't" Arabella sighed. It had been ten minutes since the attack stopped. Press surrounded the building and everyone who was watching a movie during the attack was refunded. Arabella's witness account was taken by the police and she called for her uncle to pick her up. 

"It's really cool what you did. And you got to meet Ladybug and Chat Noir! What an exciting night!" Rose exclaimed. 

"Haha, well I'm still trying to figure out all this. It's hard for me to think there are real life superheroes here." Arabella said honestly.

"It might take a while for you to get used to it, but Ladybug and Chat are the jewels of Paris. Everyone thinks very highly of them because they save the day constantly. That’s why we consider them superheroes." said Juleka.

"I don't think I could ever think of them as that though." 

"Why?" Rose asked. 

"Because," Arabella looked up at the sky, "I can't afford to believe in superheroes."


	4. Dusk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: MANY FEELS AHEAD!

It had been a week since the akuma ‘The director’ attacked the movie theater. During the past week Arabella had gotten more familiar with the some of the neighborhoods thanks to her morning jogging route. She had gotten a little out of shape over during the past year and the attack sparked a desire in her to pick up fencing again.

This morning while jogging, she ran past the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and couldn’t resist the urge to stop and smell the faint scent of pastries baking. Arabella thought it would be nice to grab some croissants to take back home with her.

The bell to the bakery’s door chimed as Arabella walked in. She immediately was hit with the warm aroma of fresh baked goods. So many different smells came together in a sweet, blissful scent. She was greeted by a short Asian woman behind the counter.

“Good morning,” the woman chirped, “welcome to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.”

“Good morning, thank you.”

“What can I get for you?”

While eyeing the selection of pastries in the display case, Arabella was at a loss for words. _Everything looks so good, and there is so much to choose from!_ “I was going to get some croissants, but it all looks so good.”

The woman laughed. “Well take your time. Everything is made fresh each morning with loving hands.”

Arabella smiled at the woman. “Thank you. Do you have anything you would recommend?”

“I love everything we sell, even I wouldn’t be able to pick a favorite. You came in looking for croissants yes? Our croissants are very good, as are our Viennoiserie. They provide a sweeter taste that is just enough to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth in the mornings but not to enough to trouble the stomach.”

“Oh, that sounds delicious. May I please have three of those as well as two Kouign-amanns to go please?” Arabella had to try her best to not drool as the woman bagged her order to go.

“Here you go, sweetie. That will be 11.87 Euro.” The woman traded Arabella the money for the bag of goodies.

“Thank you.” As she turned around, the wheels in Arabella’s head began to turn. _This is a nice bakery. I’ll have to stop by again another time. Gotta remember it’s the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Wait… isn’t that Marinette’s last name?_ Arabella recalled talking to her classmate earlier that week. They hadn’t for long before class started but Arabella thought she was nice and could even become a friend. _I wonder…._

Turning back to the woman Arabella asked, “Um, are you by any chance related to Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

The woman who was standing behind the counter gave a slight chuckle and walked into the seating area. “Yes, I’m her mother. My name Is Sabine.” The two shook hands. “Are you a friend of my daughters?”

“Ah, we are really only acquaintances at the moment. I’m in her class.”

Sabine’s smile never faltered “Well, please feel free to drop by again. We would be glad to host you for dinner sometime.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. That would be lovely. I must go now, but I hope to be back soon to try more of your pastries.”

Visiting the bakery gave Arabella such a joyous feeling. Not only was the food amazing, but the atmosphere was so welcoming. It was the first time she felt that way in a while. Arabella Did her best to keep that feeling with her through the rest of the day.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the first break Arabella looked at the club board in the courtyard for more information about the active clubs this year. _Basketball, no. Gardening club, no. Art club, cool but no. oh the book club sounds interesting but I am not here for that. Ah! Here we go. Fencing. “Fencing tryouts 5:00, September 21 st” That’s next week! I need to step it up a notch if I want to be ready by then._

Arabella turned to leave when he bumped into Nathaniel, making him drop the sketchbook and art supplies he was carrying. “Oh no Nathaniel, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“It’s fine. It happens.”

Both students started to pick up the scattered art supplies. Arabella picked up the sketch book that had opened to a drawing a comic strip of Ladybug and Chat Noir. “Nathaniel, you’re really good at art.”

Arabella closed the notebook and handed everything back to Nathaniel. She did her best to ignore her thoughts when their hands brushed together.

“Thank you. I do my best.” Nathaniel said with a light smile.

“I can tell. You are very talented. Do you plan on perusing a career in art?”

“I don’t know really. I guess I want to, but I know it isn’t very practical.”

“I don’t think having a practical job matters. Well, I mean it helps I guess b-but that’s not the point. You obviously love making art. I believe that having a job you love would be better that having a job you hate.”

Nathaniel let out a small laugh, which caught Arabella off guard. _I’m not sure I’ve seen him laugh before. Who knew it would be so…cute._

“Thank you, Arabella. I’ll make a note of that.”

“Please, call me Ari.”

“Ari?” Nathaniel tilted his head as if thinking.

“Y-you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought that since we are friends we wouldn’t need to be so formal with each other.”

After a brief moment of silence Arabella said softly, “we are friends, right?”

The comment made Nathaniel realize that her brown eyes had a hint of concern in them. This made him snap back to the conversation quickly.  “I consider us friends,” he said shyly, “do you?”

Arabella lit up at that statement. “Yes, I do.”

“Okay. Then, feel free to call me Nath.” He could feel a tiny blush starting to creep onto his cheeks. _A friend._ He thought to himself happily.

“Great. Then it’s settled.” Arabella smiled at him. “I guess I will see you in class Nath.”

“Okay. Ari.” Both students waved and went their separate ways. On the way to he art room Nathaniel kept the thought of having a new friend keep him company.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“YOU DID WHAT!” Arabella ran towards William and examined his body to find quite a few bruises and scrapes.

“Yup. That’s not the best part. He received detention for three days.” Aunt Tilda said, retrieving an icepack from the icebox.

_How can I be so angry at you and so worried for you at the same time? Is this how mothers feel? I don’t like this feeling. I’m too young for this._

“What happened to the other kid?” Ari looked from her aunt to her uncle, hoping to get more information.

Uncle Robin exclaimed with a grunt of anger, “They let the other boy off. Say he was only messing around and willy boy here over reacted.”

“Still, I can’t believe you got into a fight Will. It hasn’t even been two weeks yet. What’s gotten into you?” Ari reached for Will only for him to jerk away.

“Nothing.”

“Will, don’t pull that bull with me.”

“I said its nothing. He said things and he had to pay for it.” Will retorted back.

“’He had to pay for it’? what are you? Batman?”

“Alright you two. We will discuss this more later. For now, all of you go do your homework. Dinner will be ready soon.” Aunt Tilda pushed the two in the direction of the hallway. Ari thought she would have been a great mother.

Will grunted and after rolling his eyes, he stormed off to his room.

Ari huffed a sigh. _I could’ve handled that better. Man, I know he is going through puberty, but dang. I did not expect this._

Ari went and stood in front of Will’s door. “Will. I wanted to apologize for getting so worked up. I just…want you to be safe. I don’t what wat I would do if I lost you and Cassi.” There was some shuffling on the other side of the door and a couple muffled grunts. “I want you to know that I’m here for you. I get it. Everything is so messed up. Mom, the move, the new life. It’s hard. But we can get through it together.” There was nothing but silence this time. _What is he doing_ _?_

Ari knocked and started to open the door. Peeking through she didn’t see will but did see an open window. “DANG IT WILL! YOU’RE SO DEAD!” _I take it back, he’s on his own._ Ari went to the window and looked out for the next victim of her rage. _I gave that great speech and he wasn’t even there. I hate puberty._

~40 minutes later~

It was a very tense setting. After dragging Will back to the house, uncle robin scolded him for a long time. Now everyone sat at the table. Ari refused to stop glaring across the table at Will. He was more than happy to scowl back at her as well.

This isn’t the first time he’s acted up within the past year. Ari found out that he would sneak out and go to the park. There he would just hang out for a while and mope. That’s where she looked first. She was right. Ari recalled what they talked about earlier.

“You could’ve just asked.” Ari said when she was close enough to grab him. Will jumped very high for someone who was sitting down.

“Geez, you scared me.” He put his hands in his jacket pockets.

“I scared you? You scared me when you suddenly weren’t in the room anymore.” Ari smacked the back of his head “You don’t get to just walk away from your problems. You’re in serious trouble Will.”

“I know but I don’t care.” Will faced away but Ari walked around until he faced her again.

“Please, tell me what’s going on. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

“I don’t want your help.”

“Fine. Then looks like I have to do the next step the hard way.”

Will narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “What next step?”

Without warning Ari dragged her little brother over to their uncle’s car.

Now, currently at the table, Will angrily stuffed food into his mouth.

“Please stop shoving food in your mouth, its disgusting.” Cassie said to Will who, in response, turned to her and started to chew loudly.

“What are you talking about I eat like this normally.” He taunted but stopped when Uncle Robin cleared his throat and shot ‘the look’ at him. Where did you even learn that word?” he continued.

“In school.”

Will acted surprised “Gasp, you go to school. I thought you were illiterate.”

“I’m not stupid Will!” Cassie squeaked. Will was pushing everyone’s buttons tonight. Ari kicked him under the table and mouthed for him to stop. He ignored her warnings.

“Yes, you are.”

Aunt Tilda retreated to the kitchen with the dishes while Uncle Robin went upstairs to his office. Both her and uncle robin looked tired, not that Ari blamed them.

“Everything is stupid. You, Ari, the whole move, everything.” He was starting to shout. “I want everything to go back to normal. I want mom back, I want dad back.” His shoulders started shacking. He focused back on Ari. “I hate this. You act like nothing happened. Like they never existed.”

Ari didn’t know what to say. “I-… you don’t think I want them back too? I miss them so much!”

“Well you haven’t shown it since we moved here.”

“It’s been months since the funeral. What do you want me to do? Be depressed for the rest of my life?!”

“No but-“

“Stop!” Cassie yelled with all her might. She had started to cry. “I know it’s hard and I miss them too, but please stop fighting!”

Will exploded. “You don’t even remember the life we had before you came. Heck you weren’t even born yet when dad died.” This was getting out of hand. Ari needed to stop this before something was said they would regret.

“Will, stop.”

“You don’t get to say you miss our dad. You never knew him.”

“Will—“

“Then when you came along, you made mom sick! No, you killed her—“

*SMACK*

For a moment, the room was quiet. Will held his hand to his cheek in shock. Ari felt so many emotions. Anger, sadness, confusion, regret… she couldn’t name them all.

Holding back her own anger she grabbed will and brought him close. “How dare you say that to her. You KNOW that isn’t true. Mom got sick MONTHS after she had Cassi. You don’t get to say those things to her because your angry with the world. Cassie blames herself for making mom weak, you do not have the right to make her blame herself for being alive!”

This time, Ari started crying. “I miss them so much. But I know our parents wouldn’t want us to wallow in our sorrow forever. I mourned, I forgave, and I found the strength to continue with my life. You can take as much time as you want and I will be here to support you, but you will not take your anger out on us. We are all we have left. You aren’t alone will.” Ari pulled him into an embrace. For a moment, they just stood there hugging and crying.

Ari noticed that Cassie wasn’t in the room anymore. She looked at Will and said sternly. “We are going to find her and then you will apologize.” He nodded, sniffling.

They went to her bedroom which was wide open and showed no sign of her. They search their rooms then the living room. Still no sign. Ari and Will looked at each other in worry. She wasn’t in the house. She must have run outside while they were distracted. “You go north, I’ll go south. She couldn’t have gotten far.”

Ari’s heart was beating fast. She was scared. So much had happened within the two hours of getting home from school. Her watch hit 8:00 p.m. Ari ran through crowds and shops. She was surprised at how far Cassie had gone. Ari was starting to panic.

She caught a slight glimpse of Cassie’s short light brown hair and paused and check to see if it was her. It was. Relief flooded Ari.

“Cassie!” Ari called out. “Cassie!”

The girl stopped and was looking for the owner of the voice. Ari had to dodge a couple street vendors and tourist but her eyes never left her sister. “Cassie! Over here!”

Cassie turned around and looked into the crowd. She was still crying. Cassie had ignored everyone and everything around her. People offered to help her but she didn’t care. She just kept walking with tear streaming down her small face. Her eyes found Ari’s.

“*Sniffle* Ari…” more tears manifested as Cassie longed to be help by her sister. “Aaaaaarrrrriiiiiii!” she started running.

“Cassie, No Stop! The light is red!”

Cassie kept running, she was about to cross the street. “No! Cassie! Go Back!” Ari tried to wave her off. Making wild gestures to dissuade her sister from moving another step. _Oh heck no! not today. I won’t lose anyone else!_

Ari moved forward. The horns blared but her eyes never left Cassie’s. _I have to make it. Please let me make it!_

The horns grew louder and people started screaming. Ari reached for her sister. “CASSIE! NO!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She was so close. She almost made it. Almost.

 


	5. Darkness

Ari fell to her knees. She had been right there but couldn’t do anything to protect her precious baby sister. Ari never felt so useless before. Her life was crumbling and she couldn’t do anything about it. Tears streamed down her face as she scooted a few inches closer to her sister who lay on the pavement.

A circus of people had erupted around them. Ari heard sirens in the distance. _Someone must have called the police. They have done more than I have._

Arabella cradled her sisters unconscious body in the middle of the road.

“I’m so sorry Cassie.” She whispered. “I broke my promise. I-I… I couldn’t p-protect you.” Arabella started to sob. She lifted her head to see the charm bracelet their mom had given Cassie for her 8th birthday laying a few paces away. Clutching her sister, Arabella reached over and grasped the bracelet. She didn’t want to move. She was just numb.

Nothing around her mattered anymore. Not the police, the people, the watchful eyes, nor the butterfly fluttering innocently towards the scene. She didn’t care. She couldn’t find the strength to care. The sorrow and numbness washed over her as she sobbed into her sister’s chest. 

It wasn’t until the paramedics tried to take away her sister that she started screaming. Arabella screamed and screamed loud. She screamed at everything about everything. She struggled to hold her sister as she fought the police and medics away. She didn’t want to let go. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.

Arabella would protect her family if it was the last thing she would ever do.

What came next was darkness…and a voice. A sweet voice echoed from the void. She was compelled to listen.  

“Greetings lockette, my name is hawkmoth. I have a proposition for you. Ladybug and chat noir do nothing to help the citizens of Paris. Where were they when your sister was injured? They put people’s lives at stake, but you can prevent more misfortune. I will grant you the power to stop the people of Paris from being victim in such deadly tactics. In return, I only ask that you trap Ladybug and Chat Noir and bring me their miraculous’. Do we have a deal?

She couldn’t say no. “Yes, Hawkmoth.”

~~~~~~~

Marinette’s day was going great for once. Earlier, she was able to talk to Adrien for a full minute and didn’t stutter once (Alya was super proud) and she only fell/ran into something 4 times, which was a new record. She also got all her homework done and even worked on some new design ideas before dinner.

While eating dinner, her maman mentioned a classmate had stopped by earlier that morning when Mari was still asleep.

“Who was it, maman? I mean did they tell you their name?” Marinette asked before she put a spoonful of food in her mouth.

“I can’t recall getting her name, but I didn’t recognize her from any of your previous years.” Sabine smiled as she handed Marinette a napkin, which she graciously accepted.

“Oh well, a girl just moved here. Was she kind of tall with long brown hair?” Marinette tried to think more of what Arabella looked like but couldn’t remember that many features. They hadn’t talked often but they would exchange greetings and some occasional small talk during the breaks.

“Yes, but I am sure there are many girls that fit that description. Let’s see.” Sabine paused to think.

“Well either way she bought quite a few pastries, so she seems like a good girl.” Tom laughed and continued eating.

“Well, she was wearing some sort of running outfit but I’m sure she had changed by the time you both went to school. I can’t think of a way to describe her. I think she had brown eyes and OH!--” Sabine slapped her hand against the table, which starteld Mari and Tom.

Tom coughed on the food he had just beaten and Marinette started wide eyed at her mom.

“She had a scar! It was on the left side of her jaw. Or maybe it was a birthmark? She is still very pretty though.” Sabine victoriously took another bite. “does she sound familiar?”

Thinking back, Mari wasn’t sure if Arabella had a scar. She hadn’t noticed if she did. Everything else her mother had described sounded right though. “Yes, I think so. You might be talking about Arabella. She just moved here from southern Paris.”

“Well you should invite her over sometime, I would love to meet her.” Said Tom. Her parents like meeting new people, especially her new classmates. One of the perk of ouwing a small business was being able to meet so many customers

They would constantly chat with their customers and it provided a welcoming setting. Mari’s parents were friends to all who stepped across their threshold.

Mari got a text message from Alya.

 

To: Mari

From: Alya

Subject: Girl! check out the news! An akuma is attacking near west street!

 

_Ugh, today was going so well…._

Mari asked if she could be excused and ran up to her room. She quickly transformed and made her way towards west street.

~~~~~~~~

When Ladybug arrived, she saw Chat surveying the situation from a roof nearby and swung herself towards him. 

“Hey kitty, what do you know?” Ladybug asked as Chat turned to her.

“No more than you do probably, bugaboo. An akuma appeared here but hasn’t shown their power. But look--” Chat pointed at the figure, “I think she is carrying something big. The police keep trying to stall them.”

“Good eye kitty. We need to get closer.” Chat nodded in agreement and in a few swift movements they were at the scene ready for action.

 

 

“Ladybug! Chat Noir! Thank goodness you’ve made it!” A police officer ran over to them panting. “We-*gasp* we were responding to a call about a car accident and this akuma was already here. It has a hostage.”

Ladybug and Chat’s eyes widened. Hostage situations were never good. Both heroes turned to the akuma and paused.

The akuma wasn’t doing anything, just standing there with a little girl cradled in her arms. What made this situation worse was the child was injured. The akuma was wearing a dark purple blouse with gold chains that hung from the sleeves. She wore a brown belt with gold chains that dangled over black elastic pants. A gold whip sat against her side. The black akuma mask hid most of the woman’s face but a faint shadow on the jaw appeared beside it. Her brown hair was tied up in chains as well but a few hairs escaped their bondage and slipped in front of her face.

Ladybug and Chat looked at each other in concern. “The child must be a victim of the car crash. We need to get her to give us the child so it can be taken to the hospital.”

Chat turned to the policeman. “Has anyone tried to talk with the akuma?”

“We have tried calling to her, but she wouldn’t say anything. When we mentioned the girl, she only hugged her more tightly. Then you got here.”

“Stand by, we will need an ambulance close for the hostage. But keep a safe distance away.” Ladybug started walking cautiously toward the akuma. She motioned for Chat to go around.

As they neared the akuma, she watched them with cold, distant eyes.

“I have been waiting for you. Paris’s beloved heroes” the akuma said in disgust.

“You don’t have to be so formal.” Chat called out.

“You claim to be protectors of the people, but you only cause destruction.” The akuma walked toward ladybug, still holding the injured girl. “but I, Lockette, eill put an end to your tyranny.”

_Wow, she believes we are the bad guys_ Marinette thought.

“Please,” Ladybug pleaded, “Put the girl down, she needs to go to the hospital.”

“No, I won’t let her leave my side. I failed in protecting her, just as you fail to protect her and the people from hawkmoth’s ruin.”

        _insert hawkmoth offended: rude :/ _

“I will protect her, and the people of Paris from you at all costs” with that a chain bracelet appeared on the victim’s right wrist and the akuma let go of the girl. Before the girl could fall, she was immediately suspended in a clear box that was wrapped with chains.

“You can’t protect her while she is in this state! She needs a doctor!” Ladybug needed to somehow get the girl to safety before engaging in battle. She was at too much risk and wasn’t sure what her lucky charm could do for her previous injuries.

“I will keep her safe.” Lockette placed her hand over the weapon at her side.

“Safe doesn’t mean alive!” Chat yelled. He His outburst distracted Lockette long enough for ladybug to get closer to the girl.

Ladybug analyzed the situation as best she could before dodging the oncoming attack. Ladybug pretended as if she had done something to the box so the akuma would look away so she could take shelter behind a nearby vehicle to think. Chat joined her as the akuma searched for them. “What’s the plan, My lady?”

“The chains that held the girl captive were what held the box together. If they could break the chains they could get the girl to safety. However, this girl seemed important to the akuma and I couldn’t guarantee that the girl wouldn’t be pursued. That means the only solution is to end this fight quickly. But where is the totem?”

Ladybug and chat peaked through the car window. The akuma was getting closer to their hiding spot. Chat spotted something brightly colored appear at the cuff of the akuma’s sleeves. It was a braclete that almost went unnoticed.

“There! She is wearing a bracelet that doesn’t match her current color scheme. Could that be the totem?” Chat pointed it out to ladybug.

“Wow Kitty, I am impressed you saw that little detail.” Ladybug said.

Chat turned her face towards him, “If I can notice your adorable freckles, I can notice any detail. Which I would be happy to find.” His smirk was smooshed by ladybug’s hand pushing him backwards.

“Not the time chat.” She squeaked in embarrass rage.

The squeal got the akuma’s attention and she started in their direction.

“Quick chat, find a way to disarm her. When she is disarmed ill use my Yoyo to tie her hands together and grab the bracelet.”

“Anything for you, my lady”

Chat leaped from their hiding spot and charged Lockette. She cracked her whip, which he dodged. Before he pounced, he took out his baton and tried to disarm her. This would have worked if Lockette hadn’t moved. Her whip wrapped around his Baton. She pulled the weapon towards her, successfully sending chat over the end and onto the pavement.  “…Oww…” Chat mumbled.

Discarding the baton, Lockette wrapped it around chats legs and started to pull him towards her.

Spotting a movement of red from her peripheral, Lockette turned to see ladybug making her way towards the akuma. She flung the end of her whip, and thus chat, at the hero.

 “MMYYYY LAAADYY!!” Chat cried right before the two collided and were sent backwards.

The duo landed with a thud. Before they could separate the akuma had taken a chain from her belt and threw it at them. Once it struck them, the chains coiled around the pair and a clear box started to form around them.

_This is bad, this is very bad._ Marinette was starting to get nervous.

When the heroes realized how they were chained together, both began to blush. Chat was a little too close for comfort as he was now bound with his chin buried in her collar bone and his arms tied to her side.

“m-my L-lady, this was not – I mean—er”

“I- um- we need get out.”

Luckly for them ladybugs arms were not caught in the chains.

“I’m going to call for my lucky charm. We need to find a way to get out of these chains.” She said, looking down at chat.

Still red, He smirked mischievously, “Why would I ever want to be unbound form such a beauty?”

“CHAT I SWEAR TO GOD!”

Ladybug and chat tried to stand but they could not escape their chains. Lockette smugly watched from the sidelines as the box was almost completed.

“Okay. Plan B,” Lady tossed her yoyo upward. “Lucky charm!” Red light radiated from the yoyo. A large tool dropped towards the pair. “EEK! BAD IDEA!”

Ladybug managed to turn the chained duo over to avoid the object.

“Wow this angle of you is really—Breathtaking.” Chat gasped.

Ladybug grasped the tool. It appeared to be some kind of bolt cutter. Lockette’s gold whip wrapped around the other side of the handle.

“Woah!” The heroes were quickly dragged towards the akuma.

Ladybug and Chat were brought face to face with lockette. Well, sort of. A purple ring appeared around Lockette’s mask.

“Now is your chance to bring me their miraculous’” the voice echoed through Lockette’s ears.

Lockette started to reach for ladybugs earrings. “Nope!” Ladybug flung her yoyo at the akuma’s head.

“Ack!” Lockette yelped as the yoyo hit her head. Ladybug took this time to pull on the bracelet around her wrist. Beads bounced off the concrete as the dark butterfly fluttered out of it.

Ladybug successfully cleansed the akuma despite her awkward position. “Bye-bye, Pretty butterfly.” She said, propped up on her elbows.  

She threw the tool into the air, red and pink swirled around them and made all evidence of the akuma disappear.

Ladybug straitened herself and stretched, relieved to be out of the chains. She looked down at her partner, who seemed to be bordering the line of consciousness due to lack of air.

“Yup...Breathtaking” he wheezed.

“ooow…w-what…happened?” The Akuma victim sat up clutching her head. Ladybug and Chat noir go over to the girl.

_Arabella was the victim?_ Marinette thought.

“Hey there, Remember us from the theater?” Chat crouched next to her. “Don’t worry everything is fine now.”

“I- I don’t understand. How did I get here? Where- *GASP* where is my sister?!” Ari started to look around franticly to find her sister being loaded into an ambulance.

“She is on the way to the hospital. You should join her, we will tell you as we walk.” Ladybug reached a hand towards Ari, who greatly took it.

Ladybug’s earrings beeped once.

“Bugaboo, your timer has started. If you need to go I can help her from here.”

“I know, kitty. Thank you. I trust you will make sure she is alright.”

“Of course, my lady. I will miss you though.” He winked which made Ladybug giggle.

“Don’t miss me too much, Chaton.” Ladybug teased before she headed back home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette plopped onto her bed with a sigh. What a full day. “You did wonderful Marinette!”

“Thanks, Tikki. it was a little too close though.”

The red kwaimi landed next to her. “Every hero will have their struggles, and you overcome yours.”

Marinette chuckled, “thank you tikki. What would I do without your support?”

Tikki just shrugged. A know on the door made Marinette sit up quickly.

“Marinette, sweaty?” It was her mom.

“Ah yes mamon, come in.”

Light streamed into the room as the door opened, revealing Sabine. “I just wanted to check on you. Are you going to bed already?”

“Um, Yes, I think I will. It’s been a productive day and I’m a little tired.”

“Alright dear, sweat dreams.” Sabine started to leave before Marinette stooped her.

“Oh and mamon, I think you met Arabella today. She has a scar where you described.”

“Well she was such a lovely girl. I’m glad I can put a name to the face now. Good night darling.”

“Good night, mamon.”


	6. Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For future reference. Any flashback will be referenced as bolded text in-between of this symbol (~)
> 
> Example:
> 
> ~  
> Flashback(bolded)  
> ~

6 Days Later….

 

“You are doing very well. It is normal for victims of akuma attacks to have lingering effects of paranoia or depression.” Ari listened quietly as she lay on the reclining ottoman.

The court of Paris required all akumatized persons to receive therapy shortly after their “incident”. Dr. Doritt was a specially trained therapist for the akuma victims in Paris and was assigned to Ari’s case. She was a petite woman who listened intently to Ari’s concerns and didn’t show anything other than compassion. While Ari was uncomfortable at the beginning of the sessions, it felt good talking to someone about her troubles. She felt as if a weight was lifted from her

“Seeing that it has been six days since the incident, I think it would a good idea to talk about coming to terms with what happened and any worries you may have.” Dr. Dorrit’s short bob bounced as she stood and walked over to her desk. “However, we unlocked a lot of hidden feelings today and I feel that this would be a good time for a break to let your mind rest. Why don’t we start this topic during our next session, hmm?”

“I would like that.” Arabella sat up. She could use some time to think to herself and unwind. “Thank you for listening, I feel better now that I have gotten it all off my chest.”

“Oh, you are welcome. I’m glad you were able to open up to me.” She handed Ari a business card.

“Please call if you have any concerns or troubling thoughts before our next meeting. I would be happy to talk to you again.”

 

After talking with the clerk in the front, Arabella walked outside feeling lighter than she had in a while.

Ari felt her pocket vibrate. “hmm?”

To: Ari              From: Lil’ Bro

“Yo. Running l8te. Stuck in traffic. B ther in 10.”

Ari was about to put her phone up when it buzzed again.

 

Lil’ Bro: Also stooping by Doc after, Cass got a pencil stuck in her cast _._

_…What? H-how?_  Ari let out a sigh and a chuckle.

Thank goodness, the only ‘major’ injuries Cassie suffered was a slight concussion and a broken arm. It is good to hear she is still herself after what happened.

 

She messaged her brother back.

_Ari: Okay. Thanks for letting me know. Ill wait by the front street_

_Lil’ bro: So formal. Im not ur boss._

_Ari: brat_

_Lil’ Bro:  :[_

Ari rolled her eyes and headed towards a bench near the road. Will was slowly starting to accept their new lifestyle and even made a friend. Ironically, it was the boy he beat up. Nice kid though.

Ari sat patiently. “Wow, must be bad traffic for them to be this late.”

The street they were on was often busy but today it seemed less crowded than usual.

“I wonder if the traffic has something to do with that?”

Despite not being near many of the pedestrians, Ari started to hear faint shuffling sounds and voices.

“What? What is that?” She suspiciously surveyed her surroundings. Most of the pedestrians were on the opposite side of the road or were going by in a rush. Se followed the sound and realized it was coming from the alleyway by the Clothing shop close to where she was sitting.

Ari stood. She Nervously and quietly walked over to the alley’s entrance. The voices getting louder. As she peered around the corner she could make out three men with batons who were hovering around a short elder.

“Give it up old man.” One man had said.

“Yeah, we don’t want to cause you any harm.” the shorter of the three said.

_That’s not what it looks like. This—this isn’t right. Someone needs to do something._

 

Ari looked around to call for help or flag someone down to go get the police. But she couldn’t find anyone close enough to see her frantic gestures.

_Oooohhh this isn’t good._

She turned back towards the scene

  
“Just give us your money and we’ll be on our way.”

“I don’t have any money on me I ju—” the old man squeaked before a large hand hit the wall beside him.

“Don’t lie to us old man. We saw you exit the bank with quite a few notes.”

“P-p-please don’t! I-I need that money for my wife’s t-treatment.” The poor man was starting to shake.

_I can’t take this anymore. I need to do something, but what? Ah!_

Taking out her phone, Ari dialed the number for the local police station.

Her thumb hovered over the call button. Why was she hesitating?

~

**Sorry, our hands are tied.**

**No! You must help him! It’s your job!**

~

Looking slightly upwards she spotted her way out.  

_It’s risky but it could work,_ she thought.

She gulped, took a deep breath and stepped into the opening of the ally.

“ALRIGHT! I HAVE ALREADY CALLED THE COPS! LEAVE NOW OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!” Ari was met with silence then laughter.

“BWAHAHAHA! Look at what we have here. A little dove trying to save the day.” One of the men said wiping away a tear from laughing.

 “Get out of her Doll. This is none of your business.” The smallest said with a sneer.

The leader of the three men waved him down. “Now, now. The girl showed immense bravery stepping out like that.” They were walking towards her now, “We should reward her.”

By now they were in-between her and the old man who had been slowly backing to the other side of the alley.

_Just a little closer. I need to give the old man some time to get further away._

Ari took a few steps back “Stay away, the cops will be here any minute!”

The smallest member pointed his chin at Ari’s phone in her hand. “Doll, you haven’t even dialed them.”

They were closer now and the man was a safe distance away. She had them.

She couldn’t’ help but smile.

“I don’t need to.” Ari bolted for the shop's open window and pulled on the fire alarm lever just inside. As the alarm started she grabbed the discarded metal rod lying near the trash. “That called them for me.”

The trio was panicking now. She pulled on the rod but was met with resistance.

“huh?” Confused, Ari tried again. Nothing. “Oops”

“Haaahhh!”  The trio was charging forward batons raised.

“Oh! ahh—umph” Ari quickly dodged. The trio continued running and didn’t stop.

_Oh. It looks like they just wanted to escape. I guess that’s good?_

Ari looked back down the alleyway for the old man but saw that he was gone.

_At least he’s safe._

A loud honk startled her. It was her aunt.

She ran to the road where the little car was waiting.

“Hey, aunt Tilda—I uh… got distracted. Sorry.” Ari said as she slid into the car next to Cassie.

“It’s fine. What was that all about?”

“Oh uh, some crazy kid pulled the fire alarm and ran away. That all I know though.”

“Wow! Well, I hope the kids learn their lesson.”

Thinking back to the altercation Ari sighed. “I’m sure they did. So- “Ari turned to Cassie, “How did you manage to get a pencil stuck in your cast?”

Cassie made an annoyed face. “I had an itch. Everyone makes it seem like I’m going to die or something.”

Will peeked over the passenger seat with a mischievous grin, “Because you could die. Didn’t you know that the pencil can be fixed into your skin because of the cast? How do you think my friend pencil arm got his nickname?”

Cassie cringed and swatted at him. Ari couldn’t help but laugh.

_Maybe things will get better after all._

_~~~~~~~~_

As the car pulled away, Master Fu walked out of the alley.

“Well done boys. You did a wonderful job.” Fu said to the three men he hired

“Thank you, sir. You did great as well.”

“Yeah, I actually felt really bad.”

“But what do we do about the fire alarm?”

Master fu starts to make his way back to his shop. “You don’t have to worry. I’m good friends with the police chief. He’ll understand.”

Once he was a short distance away, Master Fu whispered to himself.

“Come Waze, it is time to introduce Paris to a new hero to aid ladybug and chat noir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! sorry for not posting in so long. School had been crazy! Well, here is the latest chapter. I promise things will pick up again soon. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So it Begins!  
> Thanks for reading! Ill try to post as often as I can and I hope you like it.


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